MP slams long wait for resort to be revived

A RESORT that once shone as a tourism showcase has languished in disrepair for the past seven years and residents were tried of seeing the once great Laguna Quays abandoned, Independent Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan said.

He criticsed the resort's owners, the Chinese owned company Fullshare Holdings, for failing to develop the resort they bought in 2013.

Mr Costigan is particularly incensed about the closure of the marina, which restricts local anglers' and boaties' access to the sea. Following Cyclone Debbie in March 2017, the Laguna Quays boat ramp was closed to the public for safety reasons. Volunteer Marine Rescue crews were the exception. The MP said the situation was unacceptable.

Having consulted with representatives of Fullshare Holdings in the past year, Mr Costigan said he believed the investors were cautious about redeveloping the resort because of a lack of international flights to Whitsunday Coast Airport.

The need for international tourists for its Laguna Quay business is clearly expressed on Fullshare Holding's website, which says it intends to develop the resort so it "targets to the ever-increasing Asian tourist market".

Mackay Regional Council said on Wednesday that Fullshare Holding had already received approval for a number of developments that had not been activated. Development Services director Aletta Nugent said the council "would welcome the redevelopment of the resort and its reopening".

Fullshare Holdings was contacted by the Daily Mercury for comment but did not respond by time of print.